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Russia on Monday said it’s suspending its participation in the vital Black Sea grain deal until the country’s conditions are met.
According to international media reports, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, hours before the Black Sea Grain Initiative was set to expire, that Russia would “return” to the deal “immediately” if its demands about its own exports were met.
“Unfortunately, the part of these Black Sea agreements concerning Russia has not been implemented so far, so its effect is terminated,” he said.
The UN and other humanitarian groups say the deal, which allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea despite Russia’s blockade, has been crucial to stabilizing food prices worldwide amid a global hunger crisis.
Russia on Monday said it’s suspending its participation in the vital Black Sea grain deal until the country’s conditions are met.
What’s the Black Sea grain deal?
The accord – signed by Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov in July last year at Istanbul’s lavish Dolmabahce Palace – created a safe corridor for Ukraine’s grain exports from three Ukrainian ports – Odesa, Yuzhny and Chornomorsk.
Under the agreement, a coalition of Turkish, Ukrainian and UN staff monitored the loading of grain into vessels in Ukrainian ports before navigating a preplanned route through the Black Sea, which is heavily mined by Ukrainian and Russian forces.
Ukrainian pilot vessels guided commercial vessels transporting the grain in order to navigate the mined areas around the coastline using a map of safe channels provided by the Ukrainian side.
The vessels then crossed the Black Sea towards Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait while being closely monitored by a joint coordination centre in Istanbul, containing representatives from the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey.
Ships entering Ukraine were inspected under the supervision of the same joint coordination centre to ensure they were not carrying weapons.
Kyiv and Moscow are among the largest exporters of grain in the world, and the blockade has caused grain prices to rise dramatically.
The deal aimed to help avert famine by injecting more wheat, sunflower oil, fertiliser and other products into world markets, including for humanitarian needs.
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